STANDARD of the German BOXER

F.C.I. n° 144 - 2 April 2001

Please be advised there is a new version of the Boxer Standard published on 13/3/2001 which reflects German Boxer Club position regarding tail docking and ear cropping. The Standard below is a previous version.

Country: Germany
Utilization: Companion, Security and Working Dog.
Classification F.C.I. : Group 2, Pinscher and Schnauzer dogs, Molossian dogs and Swiss Zennenhunds. Section 1, Molossian type and Mastiff type dogs with Working Trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE
The Boxer is smooth coated, medium sized, sturdy dog of compact, square build and strong bone. His muscles are lean, strongly developed and moulded in appearance. His movement is lively, full of strength and nobility. The Boxer must appear neither clumsy or heavy, nor lacking in substance or weedy.

IMPORTANT CORRELATIONS
a) Length of body:height at withers:
the build is square in outline, i.e. the horizontal line of the back drawed through the highest point of withers and two vertical lines through the extreme front point of sholder to the ground and through the buttock to the ground form a square.
b) Depth of brisket:height at withers:the chest reaches down to the elbows. The depth of chest is equal to half the height at withers.
c) Length of muzzle:length of scull:
the length of the muzzle measured from the tip of the nose to the inner corner of the eye should be 1:2 in relation to the lenght of the skull mesured from the inner corner of the eye to the occiput.

BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT
The Boxer should have steady nervous system and should be self assured, calm and balanced. Temperament is of utmost importance and requires special attention. Devotion and loyalty toward his master and master's family, his watchfulness and fearless courage in defence have long been famous. He is tender with his family, but suspicious towards strangers, happy and friendly in play, yet fearless when attacks. He is easy to train on account of his willingness to obey, his pluck and courage, natural keenness and sense of smell. Undemanding and clean, he is a pleasant member of family as well as a companion or working dog. His character is trustworthy with no guile or cunning, even in the old age.

Faults: Aggressiveness, viciousness, perfidy, hyper excitement, lack of temperament, cowardice

HEAD
The head gives the Boxer his characteristic look. It must be in good proportion to the body and appear neither too light nor too heavy. The muzzle should be as broad and powerful as possible. The beauty of the head depends on the balance between the muzzle and the skull. Viewed from any angle, front, above or sideways, the muzzle must always be in the right proportion to the skull, i.e. it must never appear too small. The head should be lean, with no wrinkles. However, wrinkles appear naturally in the cranial region of the head when the ears are pricked or, when the ears are left natural, in heightened alertness. Wrinkles are always present in the region from the root of the muzzle downwards on both sides. The black mask is confined to the muzzle and must be in distinct contrast to the colour of the head so that the face does not appear grim.
Scull
The upper part of the skull should not be too broad and should appear as angular as possible. Slightly arched, the upper part of the scull should not be neither round or short, nor flat ot broad. The occiput not too pronounced. The frontal furrow is only lightly defined and must not be too deep, especially between the eyes.
Stop
The forehead forms a distinct stop with the topline of the muzzle. The nasal bridge must never be forced back into the forehead like in Bulldog, neither should it be downfaced.
Muzzle
The muzzle is powerfully developed in all three dimensional directions, neither pointed, narrow, short or shallow. Its appearance is influenced by:
a) the shape of the jaws;
b) the position of the canines;
c) the form of the lips.
The canines must be big in size and set as far apart from each other as possible so that the front surface of the muzzle is broad, almost square, forming an obtuse angle with the topline of the muzzle. In front, the edge of the upper lip rests on the edge of the lower lip. The front part of the lower jaw is curved upwards, and together with the lower lip forms the chin. The cheeks are developed in proportion to the powerful jaws, but shouldn not protrude markedly. They merge in a only gentle curve to the muzzle.The chin should not extend markedly beyond the upper lip or, even worse, disappear under the upper lip. The chin must be well defined both from the front and side views. The canines and incisors of the lower jaw must not be visible when the mouth is closed, nor must the Boxer show his tongue when the mouth is closed. The naso-labial raphe is easily visible.
Lips
The lips complete the shape of the muzzle. The upper lips are thick and padded and fill the space formed by the longer underjaw. They are supported by the lower canines.
Nose
The nose is broad, black, slightly turned up, with wide nostrils. The tip of the nose is set slightly higher than it's root.
Teeth
The lower jaw extends beyond the upper and is lightly curved upwards. The Boxer is undershot. The upper jaw is broad where it is attached to the skull, tapering only slightly to the front. The teeth are strong and healthy. The incisors are as evenly set as possible and set in a straight line. The canines are set wide apart and of good size.
Eyes
The eyes are dark and are neither too small, nor protruding or deep set. Their expression conveys energy and intelligence and must not be threatening or hard. The eye-rims must be dark.
Ears
The ears are set on high. Cropped to a point, not too wide at the base, the ears are of moderate length and carried erect.Uncropped ears are of suitable size, smaller rather than large, thin in texture. They are set wide apart at the highest points of the sides of skull. Lying close to the cheeks in repose, they are falling forward with definitive crease when alert.

Faults: Lack of nobility and expression. Grim face, Pinscher or Bulldog-like head. Slavering, showing teeth or tongue when the mouth closed. Muzzle pointed or light. Sloping bridge of nose. Light, pink nose or the nose with a light spot on it. So-called "hawk eye", third eyelid (nictitating membrane) lacking pigment. Badly cropped ears. In uncropped ears, flying, half erect or erect ears, rose ears. Wry mouth, slanting line of teeth, irregular position of teeth. Weakly developed teeth or teeth damaged as a result of illness.

NECK
The top line runs in an elegant arch from the occiput to the withers. It should be of ample length, round, strong, muscular and lean.

Faults: Short, thick, dewlap

BODY
The build of the Boxer is square. The body rests on sturdy, straight legs.
Withers
The withers should be marked.
Back and loin
The back from the withers to the croup should be short, firm, straight, broad and very muscled.
Rump
the croup is slightly inclined, broad, flatly arched. The pelvis should be long and wide, specially in bitches.
Chest
The chest is deep, reaching to the elbows. The depth of chest is equal to half the height at the withers. Forechest is well developed. Ribs well sprung but not barrel-shaped, extending far to the rear.
Lower line
The lower line runs in an elegant curve to the rear. Short firm flanks are tucked up slightly.
Tail
The set of the tail is high rather than low. The tail docked short and carried upward.

Faults: Chest too wide or too deep. Sway or roach back, back too thin. Long, narrow or abruptly sunk-in or weakly coupled loins. Arched lumbar region. Croup falling away, narrow pelvis, sagging abdomen, hollow flanks. Low set tail.

FOREQUARTERS
The forelegs have strong bone and must be straight and parallel to each other when seen from the front.
SHOULDER BLADES
The shoulder blades are long and sloping, well attached to the body and not excessively muscled.
SHOULDERS
The shoulders are long and form almost right angle with the shoulder blades.
ELBOWS
Neither pressed too closely nor standing off too far from the chest.
FOREARMS
The forearmes placed vertical, long, with lean muscles.
PASTERN JOINTS
The pusterns are strong, clearly defined, but not knuckling over.
PASTERNS
The pusterns are short, almost vertical to the ground.
FRONT FEET
The feet are small, round, tight with thick cushioned and hard pads.

Faults: X-like front, loose elbows, weak pasterns, hare feet, flat, splayed feet

HINDQUARTERS
The muscles of the hindquarters are very well developed with a moulded, plastic appearance. When seen from behind, the hind legs should be straight.
UPPER THIGHS
The upper thighs are long and broad. Angle of pelvic girdle with upper thigh and knee as little obtuse as possible.
KNEES
When standing naturally, the knees should reach so far forward that it forms a vertical line from the hip bone to the ground.
LOWER THIGHS
The lower thighs are very muscular.
HOCKS
The hocks are strong, well defined, the apex not turned up. The angle of the hock is approximately 140 degrees.
REAR PASTERNS
The rear pasterns are short, with slight incline of 95 - 100 degrees to the ground.
HIND FEET
The hind feet are slightly longer than front feet. Thight, with thick cushioned and hard pads.

Faults: Weak muscles. Too much or too little angulation in hindquarters. Bow legs, cow-hocks, narrow close hocks. Dewclaws. Hare feet, flat, splayed feet.

MOVEMENT
The movement is lively, full of strength and nobility.

Faults: Waddling,short step, pacing, stilted movement.

	SKIN The skin is tight, elastic, without wrinkle.
	COAT The coat is short, wire-like, glossy and close fitting.
	COLOUR Fawn or brindle. Fawn colour occurs in varying shades, from pale fawn to dark red-brown, but the most beautiful is in between (i.e. red-fawn). The mask is black. The brindle variety in the above mentioned shades of fawn has dark or black stripes running in the direction of the ribs. The basic colour and the stripes must clearly contrast. White markings need shouldn't be rejected, they can be quite appealing.

Faults: Mask reaching beyond muzzle. Brindle stripes too close together or only some single stripes recognisable. Dirty basic colour. Colours intermingling. Unattractive white markings such as the whole, or one side of the head, white. Any other colours and dogs whose white markings exceed one third part of the body.

	HEIGHT Measured from the withers through the elbow to the ground: Dogs 57 - 63 cm; Bitches 53 - 59 cm
	WEIGHT Dogs : (with 60 cm height at withers) over 30 kg; Bitches (with 56 cm height at withers) approximately 25 kg.

P.S.
Male Boxers should have two normally developed testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Faults: Any departure from the points above should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.